Pho Binh Trailer, the original pho shop founded in 1983 that launched a Vietnamese noodle soup empire with multiple Houston locations, has closed.
The restaurant at 10928 Beamer in south Houston announced the closure on its Facebook page Friday morning: “We have made the difficult decision to not reopen,” the post stated. “We have appreciated everyone’s business all these years. We are grateful for all your support. Thank you for having been a part of our 40 years of business.”
In July the restaurant closed due to fire damage. At the time the closure was temporary, according to the restaurant’s Facebook. But the restaurant is apparently not reopening.
Considered one of the city’s oldest and best pho restaurants, Pho Binh was founded by the Nguyen family in 1983. The original restaurant, housed in a collection of trailers, proved to be popular with Houston diners, growing to locations throughout Houston and in Katy. The company’s website currently lists six active restaurant locations.
In a 2010 review, Houston Chronicle restaurant critic Alison Cook praised the trailer’s beef broth, the essence of pho, as a “long-simmered wonder: clear as a bell, fragrant with distinct notes of star anise, cinnamon, and ginger.”
The restaurant’s superlative pho also found its way into the Chronicle’s annual list of Top 100 restaurants.
Pho Binh, started as a single family-owned restaurant, attributed its success to its soup. On its website the restaurant stated: Our name quickly became popular with the Vietnamese in Houston’s community because of our authentic ‘Pho Bac’ taste that many critics agreed came close to the original pho that began in Hanoi, North Vietnam.”
The original trailer location was considered by many pho aficionados to be the best of the bunch.
Source : Houston Chronicle
